The Last Groups Standing: Living Abandonment at the Ancient Maya Center of Minanha, Belize. Issue 4 (December 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Lamoureux-St-Hilaire, Maxime; Macrae, Scott; McCane, Carmen A.; Parker, Evan A.; Iannone, Gyles
• Is Part Of: Latin American antiquity. Volume 26:Issue 4(2015)
• Page Start: 550
• Page End: 569
• Publication Date: 2015-12
• Subjects: Indians of Mexico -- Antiquities -- Periodicals; Indians of Central America -- Antiquities -- Periodicals; Indians of South America -- Antiquities -- Periodicals; Latin America -- Antiquities -- Periodicals; 918
• DOI: 10.7183/1045-6635.26.4.550
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1045-6635

Abstract

Abstract : The most archaeologically visible dimension of the Classic Maya Collapse is the abandonment of monumental royal courts. Yet, in some cases, non-elite populations lived for centuries in and around Classic Maya centers without rulers. Processes of abandonment among Classic Maya commoners are detectable and reflect their own ritual and social practices divorced from the ritual performances undertaken by the ruling elite. We study the abandonment context and chronology of three domestic groups from the Contreras Valley, an agricultural community located on the outskirts of the Classic Maya center ofMinanha, Belize. There, several artifact assemblages were deposited at the time of abandonment, representing termination rituals. This study goes beyond the ideological dimension of termination rituals to examine how these ceremonies helped reshape the identity of social groups who were about to abandon their home. We explore how the last inhabitants of a mostly abandoned landscape lived through this process of gradual depopulation. Moreover, we evaluate potential explanations for the archaeological processes behind the occurrence or non-occurrence of termination rituals in different domestic groups.